This feeling of nothingness that the empty place next to Childe brought him suddenly woke him up. He was already not a great sleeper, so if on top of that the person he had taken the habit of falling asleep next to disappeared in the middle of the night, no doubt he was going to realize it and open his eyes.

So the Harbinger sat up, the blanket falling from his chest while his blue eyes scanned the darkness of the room to observe the place next to him, well and truly empty.

Putting a hand on the crumpled sheets, the freshness of the fabric gave him the information he was looking for: it had been a while since she was up.

Turning his still sleepy gaze to the clock, the luminescent digits of the alarm clock on the bedside table showed 2:48. In the morning of course, otherwise it wasn't funny. Groaning at the inhuman time, Childe; however, refused to succumb to the call of the bed once again, and instead got to his feet and stretched briefly before heading for the door.

Going along the corridor at the exit of the room, the Harbinger followed with attention the dim light that he saw shining on the first floor, this glow that he had become accustomed to observing in the middle of the night. Then, as usual, he followed it, to join the living room where this pale light came from.

A sigh escaped from his lips, weak but nevertheless charged with a subtle anxiety. On the couch was Lumine, with a cup in her hands, presumably containing coffee from the smell of caffeine that assailed the Harbinger's nose, staring into space as she seemed to look out the window into the thick darkness.

Childe approached, as he did every time he found Lumine in this position, cross-legged on the couch, a cup firmly clutched between her fingers as if it were the only thing holding her to this world. But even the sound of his steps didn't pull her out of her contemplation of nothingness, golden eyes caught by the void, silence surrounding her motionless silhouette.

It was only after Childe sat down on the couch next to her that her sparkling irises turned in his direction, a surprise on her features gradually decreasing as this same situation repeated itself day after day.

This time, Childe reached out a hand to steal, without her capable of doing anything, the cup she was holding as if her life depended on it, under the accusing gaze of Lumine who hadn't finished sipping this beverage specially designed to keep her awake. Only a small amount of the brown liquid was present in the container, a sign that the vast majority of this demonic beverage at such a late hour of the night was incorporated into her system.

Her small hand tried to approach the young man in the hope of recovering this cup that had been stolen from her hands, an almost irritated expression visible on her features like a child seeing his toy confiscated. But Childe brought the cup to his lips to drink the rest of the beverage that Lumine had been holding on to too much lately, earning him a dismayed look from her as the caffeine poured into his person feeling the call of sleep.

The cup ending up on the coffee table in front of the couch, Childe sat down in the same position as Lumine who looked the other way, a sign that she was sulking. Truly, this childish part of her personality, Childe had only discovered it very late, after moving into their house with her. Not that it bothered him, quite the opposite. Seeing Lumine cross her arms over her chest, puff out her cheeks and look away with ferocity and a conviction that surprised him was a sight he relished.

Then Childe waited, his shoulder brushing Lumine's, their contact obvious but presently ignored by the young woman. Only their breaths in rhythm filled the silence draping the room, the pale light of the lamp pushing back the darkness of the middle of the night.

Then, Lumine's shoulder came closer to his, slowly, very slowly. And Childe couldn't hold back a smirk as he waited all the more. A little longer, and Lumine finally laid her head gently on his shoulder, finally letting go of that stupid resentment of having finished her cup to let his warmth and presence bring her comfort.

She closed her eyes and allowed herself to be enveloped by his distinctive scent that she had grown to love over time, and let herself release the tension that her waking up in the middle of the night had caused. Childe put an arm around her shoulders to bring her closer to him, the palm of his hand burning on her delicate skin, an appreciable indicator of his presence here, for her, to support and cherish her as he had done countless times since the beginning of their story.

And she relaxed more, one of her hands seeking that comfort he kept bringing her and she found it in his hand that was resting on his thigh. Their fingers were quick to intertwine, as if to tie their fate together, as if to prove to her that loneliness was no longer something she had to fear despite what her subconscious kept reminding her of every night.

A sigh went through her mouth, sign of the temporary flight of her nervousness thanks to him tracing small circles with his thumb on the top of Lumine's hand. It was after he had rested his head against Lumine's that Childe broke the silence with a hoarse whisper.

"Another nightmare?"

Her throat tightened, the words deciding to abandon Lumine, only allowing her to nod slightly in agreement as the images of said nightmare refused to leave her mind.

It had been a week now that the nightmare had been haunting her, persisting like a weed, refusing to give her the respite that the night was supposed to bring. So to escape, Lumine had found the solution: get up and make tea at first, then coffee to keep her more awake. If she kept her eyes wide open, then she wouldn't fall back into the fake world her mind was building for her.

And invariably, Childe would get up, as if warned by her sudden disappearance, to join her on the couch that had become the comfort of restless nights, without him uttering a single word. In spite of his own tiredness, Childe persisted in staying by her side as long as it would take for her to decide to go back to bed and enjoy a bit of night wrapped in the reassuring arms of the Harbinger.

But on this day, the nightmare had been so real that Lumine had found herself drinking not one, as Childe thought, but two cups of coffee. Going back to bed after that was mission impossible.

And Childe seemed to sense that Lumine was wide awake, almost on alert. Even though she was trying to relax in the embrace he had finally begun to give her, soothing arms encircling her to snuggle her little body against him, Childe had sensed that she was tense.

"An activity before going back to sleep?" he whispered a few millimeters from her ear.

Lumine knew all too well that slight intonation punctuating his words: playful.

Moving away from this affectionate hug that calmed her, golden eyes crossed those of Childe that reflected the subdued light of the room, allowing an intimacy to settle between them. Lumine's hand, which was still tightly clasped to Childe's, left his and moved up to the Harbinger's cheek to touch his skin with her fingertips.

Placing her large hand on Lumine's smaller one, Childe let go, closing his eyes against her touch for a few moments, before stepping away from her and rising from the couch.

"You won't be disappointed, I promise."

With that, Childe left for another room in the house and didn't return until several minutes later, what he had presumably gone to get in his hands.

At the sight of the objects, Lumine couldn't help but smile fondly at the man who had stolen her heart. It was at times like this that she understood perfectly the nickname he gave himself, Childe.

Standing in front of her, he had a huge smile plastered on his face, visibly excited and filled with a playful aspect that only he could show so easily.

So Lumine accepted the object he was holding out to her with a laugh, her thin fingers brushing the plastic to find the trigger with ease.

In her hands now was one of the latest Nerf models that Lumine had bought to Childe after he had had his starry-eyed gaze caught by those plastic guns in the store.

And of course, since it wasn't fun to play alone, Lumine had bought two.

In front of her, Childe, excited by the coffee he had drunk, was maneuvering his gun in the air as if there were imaginary targets he wanted to hit. His good mood contagious, Lumine soon got up from the couch to grab some ammunition he had brought along to reload their weapons.

Armed to the teeth with their armada of foam darts, Childe and Lumine stared at each other stupidly, both laughing miserably at the childish duel that was about to begin.

Activating their laser beams with which these latest models were equipped, they then separated and gave themselves a minute to position themselves in opposite rooms in their big house.

The laughter gave way to silence, which fell like the fog outside.

When the countdown was over, the duel of incomparable seriousness began.

Using walls and furniture of all kinds for obvious protection, they both navigated from room to room, dimly lit so that the laser beam would be all the more visible, both looking for the other.

Then the kitchen was the site of the first battle.

Lumine's beam landed on Childe's back. She tried her luck, her finger gripping the trigger with speed, firing a harmless arrow as fast as she could, but it hit the kitchen counter after Childe had gracefully stepped aside.

It was actually an ambush. Turning, the arrow left the barrel of Childe's weapon before its laser beam even landed on Lumine's small figure. Barely dodging, Lumine had to scramble for cover to avoid the five more arrows Childe fired after her.

With all six arrows fired, Childe ducked behind the kitchen island to reload his now empty barrel. Taking advantage of this moment, Lumine came out from behind the table to rush to where Childe was standing, gun in hand.

Childe had his finger on his barrel to insert the last dart when he was startled by Lumine, causing him to jump and drop the dart as he scrambled to his feet, legs moving swiftly to get away from the threat. But Lumine didn't let him off the hook so easily.

What followed was a chase through the various rooms on the first floor, an armed Lumine chasing a Childe desperately trying to insert the last dart into his gun. Unlike the Harbinger who emptied all his ammunition at once, Lumine waited for the perfect opportunities to unleash her dart, making this a long game of tag.

Last minute dodges, inhuman splits and flashing beams on the protagonists' pajamas punctuated this fun-filled hunt.

Neither of them let the other take the advantage. Each hiding place was chosen with care in order not to get stuck, nor to allow the other one too much accessibility. The smallest piece of furniture became a wartime refuge, a collateral victim of darts missing their moving targets who refused to surrender.

But as they both found themselves in the living room circling the table, they both took their chances. With their laser beams focused on the moving figure of their opponent, they both fired their darts at the same time, hitting their targets with equal ease.

Time seemed to stand still, their bodies stopped in their tracks after feeling that foam tip of the arrows hit their skins. The golden one didn't leave the blue one, and the reverse was also true, before finally both of them laughed heartily, their laughter filling the room with joy.

Exhausted by their frantic race which had lasted a considerable time in view of the sky beginning to clear, they both let themselves fall on the sofa, in each other's arms. They couldn't repress the smiles that were engraved on their faces, a feeling of satisfaction and euphoria bewitching their two persons.

Taking a breath, Lumine's ear to Childe's chest listened to the soothing beat of his heart slowing down, the repetitive sound filling the young woman with a gratitude that didn't need to be expressed to be heard by Childe.

This rivalry they had expressed through plastic weapons had been a way of distancing her from the painful images her nightmare kept imposing on her.

Cradled in his arms, her body warm against Childe's, Lumine knew that nothing negative could approach her anymore. So she closed her eyes, her mind ceasing to swirl around traumatic images to leave only a soothing, pristine sea accompanied by the gentle breeze that Childe seemed to bring to her every time he held her to him.

The periodic pulsations of Childe's heart against his chest soon became a comforting lullaby, annexing any negativity that refused every night to leave Lumine in peace, to finally grant her that long-sought rest.

Firmly held in each other's arms in an embrace bordering on the suffocating, the couple fell asleep, smiling, on this sofa witnessing these difficult nights, while the dawn began to enshroud the room with a subtle orange glow.